The present invention relates to wireless remote controls; and specifically to such controls for operating medical imaging equipment like the one described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,930,145.
Many types of electronic equipment employ wireless remote controls which allow the user to operate the equipment from a distance. Televisions, video cassette recorders, and other consumer electronic products commonly use such controls. Conventional remote controls are hand-held units with a plurality of buttons corresponding to different functions of the equipment being controlled. When the user presses one of the buttons, a switch is closed which causes the control to generate a beam of infrared light. The light beam is modulated with digital information indicating the specific button that was activated by the user and thereby the function which has been selected. An infrared detector on the controlled equipment senses the beam of light and produces an electrical signal containing the digital information carried by that beam. The digital signal is decoded to determine the function to be performed by the equipment. Such wireless remote controls allow the user to operate the electronic equipment by selecting a variety of functions from a remote position free from cabling and other physical constraints.
Similar remote controls have been used with medical imaging systems, such as fluoroscopic cardiac equipment. In these imaging systems, the patient is positioned between an X-ray emitter and a detector to produce an image of the desired portion of the patient's anatomy. In fluoroscopic systems, a camera is used to produce a video signal from the X-ray image which is displayed on a monitor adjacent the patient. A physician stands near the patient and within several feet of the monitor. It is not uncommon for the physician to move about the patient during a fluoroscopic examination. In order to permit the physician to be at a number of positions and still control the apparatus, wireless remote controls similar to those used with consumer electronic equipment have been provided to control the X-ray system.
The physician often manipulates the patient or a medical implement inserted in the patient during the fluoroscopic examination. Thus, at least one hand of the physician must be free to perform the manipulation. This created problems with respect to the use of conventional remote controls that were difficult to operate with one hand due to the large number of buttons. Furthermore, some remote controls require several buttons to be pressed in sequence to activate certain functions.
As electronic equipment and medical imaging systems have become more complex, the number of functions which an operator would like to control from a remote location has increased. Thus, a need exists for a wireless remote control which can conveniently be utilized to operate a large number of functions with a single hand.
Many medical imaging systems are able to calculate the relative size of anatomical features in the video image. To do so, the physician identifies the boundary of the feature using a cursor and pressing a button when the cursor is properly positioned. Therefore, it also is desirable to provide an easy to use remote control for positioning a cursor to demarcate anatomical features in the image.